The Stage

TV review

Published Friday 11 January 2008 at 17:10 by Harry Venning

I once saw the fine actor Kevin Spacey blight the Parkinson show with one of the dullest interviews ever.

At the time I interpreted this as evidence of a just God at work in the universe, balancing an excess of talent with a negligible amount of personality. Imagine my surprise when an animated, personable and interesting Spacey showed up on the latest South Bank Show.

This metamorphosis can probably be attributed to the topic under discussion - Spacey’s tenure as artistic director of The Old Vic. It is a job, and a theatre, that clearly inspires and enthrals him. And not just the mounting of prestige productions featuring all star casts, but the building itself, the bars, the staff and, most impressively of all, the Old Vic’s work in and with the local community.

A Hollywood star devoted to the cultural needs of south London residents in low income housing invites a degree of cynicism, but his commitment to this less than glamorous cause was palpably genuine. Not even Spacey is that good an actor.

The South Bank Show even gave screen time to some of the local school students who had been excited and enthused by Old Vic visits, and showed fascinating extracts from improvisation workshops, including one character study of a bolshie bus driver that was nothing short of inspired. So, good on you, Kevin Spacey, and here’s hoping to see you crammed into a mini van with three other actors, some scenery and a box of costumes touring Theatre in Education to primary schools sometime soon.

I have never understood the appeal of tribute acts, so am possibly the wrong person to review The One and Only BBC1’s Saturday night talent quest to find an ersatz superstar and send them off to work in Las Vegas for three months.

Week one was a preliminary round, with triplicate Rod Stewarts, Dusty Springfields and Frank Sinatras competing for a place in the live finals. It all became rather repetitive and tedious very quickly, although my interest was marginally rekindled when a white man with ginger hair won the Lionel Richie round. It has to be said that the make-up department worked miracles - without reverting to “blackface”, thank God - but it was still a rather bizarre outcome. Where, I want to know, were all the black Madonnas?

Rapunzel kicked off a short series of reworked Fairy Tales. Lee Ingleby starred as a mediocre East European tennis player who drags up to compete more successfully as a woman. Complications arose when he fell in love with the top ranked British seed (Charity Wakefield) who, rather spuriously, was forced to wear her hair in an unfeasibly long plat by her wicked mother/coach.

Shamelessly romantic and endearingly silly, Fairy Tales filled an hour delightfully and provided several very good laughs along the way. Only a very malicious fairy indeed would spoil the party by pointing out that the two leads clearly couldn’t play tennis to save their lives.

DETAILS

The South Bank Show - ITV, Sunday 6, 10.30pm

The One and Only - BBC1, Saturday 5, 5.45pm

Fairy Tales - Rapunzel - BBC1, Thursday 10, 9pm